Wolphram Alpha, Your Expert Assistant

Are you tired of researching a topic using Google, which returns thousands of documents and websites that may or may not have the (correct) information you need?  If so, you will want to check out Wolphram Alpha, an online system for computing answers to questions.   Your questions are answered with words, data, charts, graphs, and images.  What is the difference between a search engine like Google and Wolphram Alpha? 

Google = finding information that has been published online.  

Wolphram Alpha = answering questions about what people know collectively.  It’s like having an expert assistant nearby.  And yes, there's an app for that.

You have to try it to believe it!  http://www.wolframalpha.com/. See what happens when you enter text such as:

• Weather in Walled Lake, Michigan


• 1/6 + 5/12 + 3/4


• Life expectancy


• Carbon


• Polar Bear


• 10 M&Ms

Added February 6, 2011:  This post is part of an Ed Tech Blog Carnival, organized by Danny Nicholson, a UK educator.  Lots of interesting topics were submitted.

Simple Strategies to Help Students “Get it”

 

Dr. Betty Garner recently came to my school district to work with elementary teachers, who have asked (via online surveys) for help as they facilitate small group instruction during math and readers’ workshop.  Dr. Garner spoke about some simple strategies that may help students who seem to be unwilling or unable to make academic progress.  These are my notes from her workshop:

 

Many students are not able to make connections that would seem to be obvious.  They need to be taught how to collect and be aware of sensory data.  How might you teach this? 

•  Show an image and ask two questions:  1) What do you see? 2) What do you notice? (involves interpretation).  Discuss.


• Ask open-ended questions.


• Do not answer your own questions.


• Ask “What part do you know for sure?”


• Start a lesson with something hands-on.  Ask what the students notice. Do not tell them what to notice.  Make them do the work.


• Ask students to draw what comes to mind when they hear a word.  This is powerful.


• Provide an open-ended structure to a writing assignment.  Four paragraphs:  1) Summarize what you learned about _____.  2) What sense do you make of it?  3) How will you use it?  4) What questions come to mind?


• Ask “Which words do you wish you knew better?”

 There is such pressure to raise test scores and cover material as quickly as possible.  However, it works much better to invest teaching energy to help students learn how to learn.   These strategies will work for all grade levels and content areas.

Making an Impression: Your Digital Footprint

This video was posted on The Educator's PLN Ning and was created by Steve Johnson.  If you have children who use a computer or work with kids in an educational setting, watch this together and discuss it! 


Find more videos like this on The Educator's PLN

Kindle e-Book Review

I received a Kindle as a gift for by birthday in October. I thought I would share my thoughts and experiences after having used it for the past few months. Overall, I am very happy with it!

What I like about it:

• It's light to carry.


• I can make the font larger so I can read in bed without glasses.


• I can access any of my books on my iPod Touch using the free Kindle app.


• I can look up words in the built-in dictionary.


• Many books have a text-to-speech "read to me" feature (and the electronic voice isn't too bad).


• Lots of books are available for free and/or low cost (Amazon, Project Gutenberg, Open Library, Many Books, and Internet Archive).


• I can preview a book before purchasing it.


• LONG battery life.  I've only charged mine twice.

What I don't like:

• I cannot share the books that I purchase with my family and friends, even those who own their own Kindle. (NEW 1/3/11: a big thank you to Grace Kat, who shared info about sharing Kindle books in her comment below.  Many books CAN be shared one time for up to 14 days.  See info on this page of Amazon's web site.) 


• I enjoy reading blogs that are free on the Internet.  The blogs that are available for viewing on the Kindle cost $5 a month and most are not updated regularly.

I think it won't be long before e-readers catch on in the K-12+ education market.

Middle School Math Differentiation

I had the pleasure of working with a group of middle school math co-teaching teams recently.  We spent an afternoon reviewing online resources that could be used to help differentiate instruction and then made paperslide videos, to find out if it could be a strategy that students could benefit from. 

Here are some of the websites that the teachers reviewed favorably:

• Khan Academy.  Teachers thought that this would be great for use at home.  Pre-algebra resources are weak at this time.


• Math TV.  This resource is available in English and Spanish.  Teachers like it because the videos can be embedded on teacher web sites.  Extra practice worksheets are available with a $20 premium membership.


• Hippocampus.  Teachers liked the fact that this is interactive and available in English and Spanish.


• Algebasics.  Tutorials can be used on occasion for review purposes.


• National Library of Virtual Manipulates.  The database of activities is extensive.  The activities are leveled, so they challenge students where they need it. 

Paperslide videos can be used in any subject area.  They are modeled after CommonCraft videos.  I experienced this at the Discovery Educator Network Summer Institute (facilitated by Lodge McCammon).  Teachers worked in teams of three to break down math problems in sequential steps, write their scripts, and record their videos using USB videocams.  The overall consensus of the group was that the process of creating the videos would be helpful for students to solidify learning by teaching others.  See an example created by teachers below.  All of them are posted on our SchoolTube channel.

Skype Guest of the Week

Jennifer Bond, a3rd grade teacher in the Walled Lake Consolidated School District, has a "Skype Guest of the Week."  This past week, JoAnne Kaminski, a Reading Specialist from Wisconsin, visited the classroom.  The two educators connected as a result of Mrs. Bond's post on the Skype in Schools wiki  which describes how she uses Skype in the classroom.

Mrs. Kaminski wrote about the visit on her blog.  See a portion of the visit below (4.5 min).  My favorite part is near the end when Mrs. Bond's students sing their "Twitter Song" to Mrs. Kaminski. Check it out!

Overheard at MVU's Online Learning Symposium

From Steve Megley, Deputy Director of Ed Tech, US Department of Education:

• "Assessment can be done THROUGH the act of learning.  It's crazy to give tests and expect kids to do well just to make the teachers day." 


• "Education needs structural change, and we must find the spaces for the changes.  We cannot just add it to the gaps in the current system.  It will involve risks, and will probably be done in the hours outside of the traditional school day."  


• "The biggest factor that leads to increased student achievement is to have highly effective instructors in classrooms.  Highly connected teachers can improve their classroom effectiveness.  Connect those who are motivationally aligned."


• "Using Wikipedia is a life skill.  Do not block it."


• "Keeping educators current is a problem. I don't have a solution to this problem, but it might be a good idea to look at health care and  find out how medical professionals keep current."

From Milton Chen, Senior Fellow and Executive Director Emeritus at The George Lucas Educational Foundation:

• "Innovation is the key to creating an education nation."


• "1:1 programs are weapons of mass instruction."  All students need their own device.  The state of Maine provides laptops for every middle school student for $250/student/year."


• "Technology is only technology to those born before it."


• "Try asking other educators in your district these questions.... What is your definition of a great school? What would be the data indicators?"

From Richard Ferdig, Research Professor in the Research Center for Educational Technology at Kent State University:

• "Online learning can only make a difference if the instruction changes."


• "Find ways to record exemplary practice."


• "Gaming and virtual worlds can greatly impact student learning."

 Michigan Virtual University's Online Learning Symposium